]]>Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s request to have desertion and misbehavior charges against him dismissed are understandable, says a military lawyer, but unlikely to succeed.

On Monday, before a military judge at Fort Bragg, lawyers for Bergdahl — who walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and is accused of endangering the lives of soldiers who searched for him – pushed for the charges to be dismissed because of statements Donald Trump made during his presidential campaign condemning Bergdahl and saying he should be severely punished.

They argue that because of now-President Trump’s prior comments, their client cannot get a fair trial.

The judge, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, didn’t immediately rule on the defense request, but called the footage of Trump condemning Bergdahl “disturbing material.” A written decision was expected later.

“The defense counsel validly could make that argument” about Trump tainting the possibility of due process, military law expert Greg Rinckey told Fox News. “But I believe a judge won’t find [Trump’s actions] are unlawful command influence. If Trump makes comments now, it clearly would be.”

Unlawful command influence refers to a commander saying or doing something that would taint as guilty a military defendant who is facing an accusation.

“If a commander strips rank before a court martial, or restricts a soldier from the barracks, or has everyone give him the silent treatment, that’s unlawful command influence,” Rinckey said.

Bergdahl is scheduled for trial in April and could face a life sentence if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy.

Defense attorneys argue that Trump violated Bergdahl’s due process rights by repeatedly calling him a “traitor” and making other harsh statements about the soldier. The defense motion, filed shortly after Trump was sworn in as president, cites more than 40 instances of Trump’s criticism at public appearances and media interviews through August 2016.

Defense attorneys argue that potential jurors may feel obligated to agree with their new leader and would have a hard time ignoring the criticism.

Prosecutors contend that any reasonable observer would understand that Trump’s comments amounted to campaign rhetoric and should not be taken literally.

They argue that Trump’s use of the term “traitor” was not meant in the legal sense, but in a conversational way.

Bergdahl, who is from Idaho, has said he walked off his post to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit.

The Army’s investigating officer has testified that Bergdahl did not mean to desert and did not intend to join the Taliban. The officer said that to have Bergdahl serve time in prison would be “inappropriate,” according to the New York Times.

Rinckey said that while the judge is not likely to dismiss the charges, Bergdahl’s contention that a jury cannot avoid knowing about and being influenced by Trump’s condemnation may result in some time – perhaps days, or a month, for instance – deducted off his sentence if he is convicted.

Another expert, Eric Carpenter, a former Army lawyer who teaches law at Florida International University, said to the Associated Press, however, that potential military jurors could be influenced by Trump’s comments even if he made them before becoming president.

“The prosecution is in a tough spot. These statements are really indefensible, and they have the job of defending them,” he said. “No one in the administration has disavowed those comments, so the comments still have life.”

The sergeant was held captive by the Taliban and its allies for five years. The Obama administration’s decision in May 2014 to exchange Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners prompted some Republicans to accuse Obama of jeopardizing the nation’s safety.

When Navy Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lin was first arrested at the Honolulu airport in 2015 on a flight to China, military investigators thought they had uncovered an espionage case of epic proportions – a Mandarin-speaking Asian-American military officer accused of leaking highly sensitive U.S. military secrets to Chinese and Taiwanese officials.

After two days of intense interrogation, Lin confessed to telling a recently retired Taiwanese naval officer and others some highly classified details about the U.S. Navy’s weapons programs, including the Long Range Anti-ship Missile under development, the high-speed rail gun and the Laser Weapon System being tested in the Persian Gulf, according to statements made at a recent motion hearing in a courtroom in Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

So military investigators likely thought they had a key witness when they sat down to depose that retired Taiwanese naval officer, Justin Kao, who is also a Virginia Military Institute and Penn State grad and who worked at the unofficial Taiwanese embassy in Washington.

However, according to a copy of Kao’s Aug. 2 deposition transcript that was obtained by Navy Times, Kao told investigators very little that would help convict the U.S. Navy officer.

Did Lin ever share information about the Navy’s laser weapon? Kao said no.

Did Lin say anything about the anti-ship missile program? Kao said he’d never heard of it.

Did Lin disclose information about the rail gun? Kao said Lin mentioned it once, at a barbecue at Lin’s house, when Lin casually recalled a visit to the Navy research test lab when one of the technicians gave Lin a fragment from a test target as a souvenir. Lin seemed to be showing off to a friend rather than disclosing military secrets, Kao said, according to the deposition’s transcript.

]]>http://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/news/the-strange-case-of-lt-cmdr-edward-lin/feed/0Capital Region responds to Trump travel banhttp://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/news/capital-region-responds-to-trump-travel-ban/
http://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/news/capital-region-responds-to-trump-travel-ban/#commentsMon, 30 Jan 2017 14:35:58 +0000Tully Rinckey PLLChttp://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/?p=21433‘We have to stand up or it’s going to get worse’ Farhat Mir stood with his family Sunday near the Southwest Airlines check-in counter at Albany International Airport and held a sign in support of refugees. Mir lives in Albany, …

Farhat Mir stood with his family Sunday near the Southwest Airlines check-in counter at Albany International Airport and held a sign in support of refugees.

Mir lives in Albany, but is originally from Kashmir, a region in the Himalayas that for decades has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan.

“It makes my heart swell with joy,” he said, looking out at a crowd of protesters opposing a recent executive order from President Donald Trump. “All ethnicities, religious groups and nationalities are what make this country great.”

Hundreds of protesters at Albany International Airport joined others around the country who rallied over the weekend in opposition to an executive order signed Friday by President Donald Trump banning refugees and citizens from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States. The event started at 11 a.m. and continued for a few hours as attendees cheered, chanted and spoke about the importance of diversity and acceptance.

It was the second weekend in a row thousands of rally-goers mobilized across the country in response to the new administration.

At the rally’s peak, at least 300 people gathered on the first floor of the Albany airport. Some spoke into a megaphone about how they or their loved ones had immigrated to the United States. Others crafted homemade signs reading “Embrace Refugees,” “No Ban No Wall” and “Albany for Refugees.”

The crowd periodically broke out in a chorus of chants, including “Build the wall, we’ll tear it down” and “no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here.”

“It gives me hope,” said Chris DeRoller, a rally-goer from Old Chatham. “To see all the people that value kindness and generosity, it makes me hopeful.”

Additional Albany County Sheriff’s Department personnel were on hand to direct travelers and maintain a clear walkway.

The protest began near baggage claim, but was moved before noon to the other end of the airport near the check-in counters. The crowd included senior citizens, families with young children and many people who said they had immigrated to the United States years ago.

“What I think is happening is heartbreaking, and it is so not who we are as a country,” DeRoller said. “We have to stand up or it’s going to get worse.”

Trump signed an executive order on Friday banning citizens and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. The order prevents citizens of Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Libya from entering the United States for the next 90 days.

A federal judge ruled Saturday night that the government could not remove individuals with valid visas or refugee status from the country or detain those who had already arrived, saying the executive order could cause those travelers “irreparable harm.”

The travel ban created chaos and confusion as some U.S. citizens traveling from Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan were detained or told they’d be sent back.

The potential impact of the executive order prompted a quick response from several Capital Region leaders, nearly all of whom spoke out against it.

Stephen Ainlay, president of Union College in Schenectady, issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying the college will protect and support those affected by the travel ban.

“Union was founded as one of the country’s first non-sectarian colleges, with the belief that diversity made for a better educational experience,” Ainlay wrote. “Two centuries later, we are more committed than ever to that belief.”

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Wilsboro, both spoke out in opposition to the president’s order. Tonko said sending refugees back is “inhuman and un-American,” while Stefanik called the travel ban “rushed and overly broad.”

In a joint statement with 15 other state attorneys general, Eric Schneiderman vowed to fight the executive order, calling it “unconstitutional.”

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb and a Niskayuna native, tweeted Sunday that the company would provide free housing to refugees unable to enter the U.S. because of the travel ban.

Cianna Freeman, an immigration attorney with the Tully Rinckey law firm in Colonie, said she’s heard from a lot of people concerned about family members abroad, particularly those who were on waiting lists to travel to the United States.

As the debate over the executive order plays out, Freeman said attorneys are discouraging travel for those with dual citizenship in one of the seven countries included in the ban, saying the situation is too tumultuous.

He said he was glad to see such a strong response to the travel ban, but added that he wished people had been more proactive than reactive in protesting Trump’s rhetoric. With the Republican Party in control of the executive branch, both houses of Congress and potentially the Supreme Court, Russell said grass-roots activism will be important in the years to come.

“I’m glad to see everybody, but it needs to be sustained,” he said. “We have no other choice.”

VETCON is the first of its kind in Albany’s Capital Region and will provide support, advice, and direction to startups and existing businesses owned by veterans, as well as veterans (re)entering the workforce. The Job Fair, taking place on day two of the conference, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 1:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is free to all veterans or current military personnel.

The VETCON Job Fair has been organized specifically for veterans seeking employment. Participating companies include over 15 local and national businesses, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, all eagerly seeking to hire veterans. Veterans are encouraged to bring several, updated copies of their resume for distribution.

VETCON is an unprecedented collection of public and private businesses, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and government agencies collaborating for an extremely worthy cause. The conference will include interactive seminars, informative keynotes, matchmaking sessions with NYS purchasing agencies, and opportunities to network with presenters of national renown who will be serving as mentors during seminar sessions.

The conference will be held at the Desmond, Hotel in Albany, NY. Registration for the full two-day conference is still open and tickets are $100 per day. Veterans may attend the VETCON Job Fair for free on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

For more information about all of VETCON’s speakers and a full list of conference workshops, visit www.VetConNY.com or contact Marcy Velte at (518) 218-7100 or info@VetConNY.com.

]]>http://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/articles/vetcon-announces-free-job-fair-and-employment-preparation-for-veterans/feed/0Secret Service faces questions about child sex abusehttp://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/articles/secret-service-faces-questions-about-child-sex-abuse/
http://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/articles/secret-service-faces-questions-about-child-sex-abuse/#commentsThu, 25 Aug 2016 20:24:07 +0000Tully Rinckey PLLChttp://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/?p=21286Secret Service is under scrutiny after newly released documents The U.S. Secret Service is under review after a batch of newly released documents revealed that a special agent was accused in 2012 of using a date-rape drug to molest boys. …

The U.S. Secret Service is under review after a batch of newly released documents revealed that a special agent was accused in 2012 of using a date-rape drug to molest boys.

The revelation, stemming from a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, raised questions about whether the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security, which oversees it, as well as its investigative arm, took sufficient action when confronted with the allegations.

In addition to the allegations involving the special agent, a separate document obtained by the Washington Examiner referenced another employee from a different division who had also been accused of child molestation.

The new revelations come at a time when the agency is struggling to overcome scandals, including one in which agents hired prostitutes during a presidential trip to Colombia.

The Secret Service has spent years trying to repair its reputation and improve discipline, but the new revelations about child abuse prompt attorneys who specialize in federal employment law to question the agency’s willingness to hold agents accountable for serious crimes.

“From a reading of what is publicly available to me, it appears that the U.S. Secret Service does not wish to be held accountable for how it treats its employees accused of serious crimes against children involving sexual misconduct and/or drugs,” Cheri Cannon, a partner at federal employment law firm Tully Rinckey told the Washington Examiner.

“The Secret Service should be transparent in how it treats such persons, within the confines of federal privacy laws,” she said. “Not responding at all or ignoring the situation is not responding within the bounds of federal privacy laws, but appears to be an effort to protect the agency from any allegation of a cover up of serious criminal activity.”

Bracing for renewed criticism, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the union that represents the Secret Service, released a statement earlier this week saying, “the Secret Service is comprised of humans who sometimes err, but isolated mistakes do not undefine the agency’s legacy of honor.”

The latest child sex abuse issue goes back to the fall of 2012, when Department of Homeland Security investigators were looking into a Denver-based special agent accused of child molestation, according to one document, a “memorandum of activity” from the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). When investigators ran the agent’s name through a federal database, they found that the same person had been flagged by Customs and Border Protection a year earlier for trying to send himself a date-rape drug through the mail.

Customs and Border Protection officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York found the package containing the drug in 2011 and confiscated it before it reached the agent, according to the memo, and entered his name into an internal DHS law enforcement database. The document was redacted to exclude the agent’s name.

The date-rape drug is gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, which the memo notes is “used as a recreational drug and is linked to drug-assisted sexual assaults.” Under U.S. law, the drug is a List 1 chemical, which it is illegal to import.

Five days after OIG officers in Denver discovered the agent’s name in the database, he was sent to Washington, D.C., for questioning, where he admitted sleeping with a juvenile at his home but stated that “nothing sexual happened,” according to the memo.

“Subsequently, [the special agent] resigned his employment with the USSS,” the memo states. “However, a few weeks after his resignation, he withdrew his resignation and the USSS reinstated [the special agent's] employment and he was placed on administrative leave.”

Administrative leave allows federal employees to remain on payroll without reporting to work while under investigation for misconduct.

The memo states that investigators in Dallas then interviewed another subject. Though that part of the memo is heavily redacted, the part that is visible says that he had spent the night at the special agent’s home several times “but he slept alone on the couch” and “never had sexual contact” with him.

Asked about the GHB chemical, the subject of the interview said he knew it was the “‘date-rape drug,’ but did not want to comment more about it when asked more probing questions,” the memo states. The subject then said he did see the special agent in question mixing “[redacted]” into a drink and the special agent drank it but “did not know if anyone else did too.”

In late 2012, OIG investigators alerted a Colorado county sheriff’s office “to apprise them [sic] the information in the event the sheriff’s office received any reports or complaints about the [special agent's name redacted] misconduct.”

The local county sheriff’s office said it would then initiate an investigation based on the information it received from the OIG investigators “in order to determine” if the special agent had committed any crimes.

The document was made public after Maria Litman, a Texas woman spent $100,000 in legal fees fighting the DHS for documents related to Secret Service misconduct. She won her court cases, recently receiving 3,900 documents about the Secret Service misbehavior.

In addition, a separate chart of Secret Service misconduct cases obtained by the Examiner, shows what appears to be a second incident of alleged child molestation during the same year, 2012. This case appears to be different than the one involving a special agent and the date-rape drug because the suspect was in the Uniformed Division of the agency, and was not a special agent.

In this case, according to the document, the employee was arrested for “aggravated sexual battery and taking indecent sexual liberties with a child.”

The proposed punishment of the employee was indefinite suspension for failing to maintain a security clearance. In the end he instead “retired in lieu of removal.” Employees who retire rather than resigning or being fired receive federal pensions and benefits

A Secret Service spokeswoman told the Examiner this week that federal privacy laws bar the agency from releasing information about the cases or how or whether the employees left the agency after the allegations were investigated.

Following the publication of this article, she emailed the following statement:

“In October of 2012 the Secret Service was informed that two employees were under investigation by other law enforcement agencies. Upon notification, both employees’ security clearance and access to Secret Service facilities was suspended and they were both placed on administrative leave. Indefinite suspension (leave without pay) was proposed.

The first employee retired On October 31, 2012. The second resigned December 15, 2012. Both actions were just prior to enforcement of the indefinite suspensions. At no time did either employee ‘un-resign.’

Cannon argues that there is information, albeit limited, the agency could release despite privacy laws, including whether the unidentified special agent is still employed and whether he resigned, was fired or retired with benefits, as well as details about whether the investigation found corroborating evidence and how it ended, she said.”

An OIG record of case closures, made public in 2014, refers to a case involving a Colorado special agent accused of using an illegal drug to “seduce and molest” underage children that was opened in Dec. 6 of 2012 and closed on Dec. 13, 2013.

After analyzing the details of the memo about the OIG investigation, Cannon had several questions about how investigators and the Secret Service resolved and closed the case.

She pointed to the Secret Service or DHS decision, as described in the document, to allow the special agent to rescind his resignation and be reinstated as particularly troublesome from a legal perspective.

Her concern about a possible cover-up is “bolstered by the Secret Service decision to return the employee to the federal payroll after he had resigned from service and then placing him on paid leave at…taxpayer expense.”

There is no legal requirement to accept a former employee’s request to return to duty after his resignation, she said.

“There is certainly no reason to do so when the employee is accused of serious criminal activity and will not be returned to active service as an agent,” she added.

Stan Brand, a senior counsel at Akin Gump who specializes in defending witnesses in government investigations, also questioned several aspects of the Secret Service and the OIG’s handling of the case.

The reinstatement of the special agent after he resigned described in the piece was especially “bizarre,” he said.

“He resigned and they let him back [on administrative leave] without anything in the record about how these allegations were resolved…it’s a mystery to me,” Brand said.

Most investigations involving allegations of serious crime are followed by a Report of Investigations, a final summary of what investigators pursued, how it concluded and what disciplinary actions they recommended the Secret Service take against an employee, if any.

Both the Secret Service and OIG are under new leadership since the Colombia prostitution scandal grabbed headlines in 2014 and spurred congressional investigations.

An OIG spokeswoman told the Examiner to submit a FOIA request for the final report, and said she “would be surprised if there wasn’t [a final report] on a closed case.”

The Examiner submitted a FOIA request this week. No one answered when the Examiner called a phone number listed on the website for the OIG office in charge of handling those requests.

Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Anthony Bucci said he would not disclose any information about the date-rape drug discovered at JFK Airport because “internal documents are not releasable and addressee information is protected by the Privacy Act.”

In its broad defense of the Secret Service this week, union President Nathan Catura, said “For several years now, the Secret Service has been put under an unrelenting microscope. A proud agency that does one of the most patriotic duties ‎in the United States has been repeatedly dragged through the refuse pile, in many cases for dubious and uncertain reasons. While we do support the imperative that all law enforcement officers be held to the highest standards, several congressional and Office of Inspector General reports have revealed one glaring fact: the Secret Service is comprised of humans who sometimes err, but isolated mistakes do not undefine the agency’s legacy of honor.”

Catura praised the steps taken by the agency to address misconduct by agents, and calling their work “underappreciated.”

“With all-time staffing lows, they are conducting one of the most dynamic and intensive presidential campaigns in modern history – putting their lives on the line every day with minimal resources thanks to a lack of congressional budget support,” he said.

(CNN)A Navy sailor facing prison time for taking photos of a classified area on a US nuclear attack submarine is asking a federal judge for leniency, citing the government’s decision not to indict Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information.

Petty Officer First Class Kristian Saucier, a 29-year-old mechanic, admitted he used his personal cellphone on three occasions in 2009 to take six pictures of the submarine’s classified propulsion system while working in the engine room, according to court documents.

In a court filing, Saucier’s lawyer compares the half-dozen classified photos Saucier had in his possession to the 110 classified emails the FBI determined were on Hillary Clinton’s personal server.
“Mr. Saucier possessed six (6) photographs classified as ‘confidential/restricted,’ far less than Clinton’s 110 emails,” Derrick Hogan wrote to the US District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in a story first reported by Politico.

Advocating for probation, Hogan said it would be “unjust and unfair” for Saucier — who has pleaded guilty — to do prison time “for a crime those more powerful than him will likely avoid.”

The federal government dismissed the comparison in a court filing Monday and instead asked the judge to sentence Saucier to more than five years behind bars at the sentencing hearing this Friday. The federal sentencing guideline ranges from 63 to 78 months.

“The defendant is grasping at highly imaginative and speculative straws in trying to further draw a comparison to the matter of Sec. Hilary (sic) Clinton based upon virtually no understanding and knowledge of the facts involved, the information at issue, not to mention any issues of intent and knowledge,” the prosecutors said in court papers.
Saucier, who served on the USS Alexandria submarine from September 2007 until March 2012, had a secret security clearance and admitted knowing he was not authorized to take the photos, which depicted classified material.

Still, Saucier’s lawyers claim his reason for taking the photos was benign.

“Mr. Saucier admitted that he knew when he took the pictures in 2009 that they were classified and that he did so out of the misguided desire to keep these pictures in order to one day show his family and his future children what he did while he was in the Navy,” Hogan wrote in a court filing.

Saucier’s conduct is different from Clinton’s email controversy, even his lawyers admit. The former secretary of state has said she did not knowingly send or receive emails that were classified, while Saucier has admitted knowing his conduct was illegal.

FBI Director James Comey, however, said his investigation found that “any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position … should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation” about classified matters. Comey also noted that a small number of the emails did bear markings indicating the presence of classified information, a fact that Saucier’s defense attorneys pointed to.

“I don’t think that we’re grasping at straws,” said Greg Rinckey, one of the defense attorneys representing Saucier. “I think the cases are similar. Are they apples to apples? No, absolutely not. However it’s now been shown that Secretary Clinton sent and received emails that were marked classified at the time contrary to her sworn testimony.”

]]>http://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/news/rinckey-hogan-on-saucier-case/feed/0Hogan for Saucier: Life is just fairer to some than to othershttp://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/news/21260/
http://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/news/21260/#commentsWed, 17 Aug 2016 14:01:42 +0000Tully Rinckey PLLChttp://www.tullylegal.com/albany-ny/?p=21260Life is just fairer to some than to others Millions of Americans, mostly Democrats but a few sourball Republicans, tell pollsters and anyone who doesn’t want to listen that they’re preparing themselves to ignore the stink and shame of Hillary Clinton when …

Millions of Americans, mostly Democrats but a few sourball Republicans, tell pollsters and anyone who doesn’t want to listen that they’re preparing themselves to ignore the stink and shame of Hillary Clinton when they vote in November. They’re advised here to prepare themselves for a protracted season of malaise and buyer’s remorse.

But it’s an ill wind — often of gale force — that blows nobody good, and lawyers for a Navy petty officer charged with doing pretty much what Hillary did with her email lies are expected to argue Friday, at his sentencing in a federal court, to plead for mercy on the grounds that, if its good enough for a well-stuffed goose in a pantsuit, it ought to be good enough for a gander in the uniform of his country.

The petty officer first class, Kristian Saucier, 29, will be sentenced on a charge of retaining “national defense information without permission.” He pleaded guilty to taking six forbidden photographs while on duty aboard the USS Alexandria, a nuclear submarine, which showed parts of the sub’s propulsion system. He knew, he admits, that information about the propulsion system was classified.

His defense lawyer, Derrick Hogan, argued in a filing earlier this year that Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of State and the Democratic nominee for president, “has come under scrutiny for engaging in acts similar to Mr. Saucier[‘s],” he wrote. He reminded the court that a long and expensive investigation by the FBI found that 110 email messages and 52 email “chains” found on Hillary’s private email server — which she used for official business to avoid the email servers that were perfectly satisfactory for other government officials — were classified at the time she sent them — eight “chains” with “top secret” information and 36 messages classified as “secret.”

“In our case,” the lawyer argues, “Mr. Saucier possessed six (6) photographs classified as ‘confidential/restricted,’ far less than [Mrs.] Clinton’s 110 emails. It will be unjust and unfair for Mr. Saucier to receive any sentence other than probation for a crime those more powerful than he will likely avoid.”

There are distinctions between Hillary’s crimes and misdemeanors and Mr. Saucier’s felonies, but they’re distinctions without much difference. He admitted that he knew from “training and his specialized work” on the submarine that he was not supposed to take them, and he admits that he destroyed his laptop computer, camera and a memory card containing the images. Hillary pleaded the defense of the little lady who just didn’t understand all that guy stuff.

She would have batted her eyes at James Comey, the director of the FBI who conducted the investigation, but she never learned how to do that flirty stuff with guys, either. Nor did she know about all that guy stuff at the State Department, but Mr. Comey concluded that secretaries of State are expected to know a lot of guy stuff, and that included the little lady formerly from Little Rock.

Besides, she had batteries of lawyers at hand, all paid by the government, and Mr. Saucier was just a guy.

Mr. Saucier was not accused publicly of spying, or of taking the photographs to sell to nefarious outsiders. Two other sailors aboard the USS Alexandria were cited for taking photographs in classified spaces aboard ship, perhaps for personal souvenirs, and dealt with leniently. This might be more persuasive than establishing a new “Hillary rule.” One of the two other sailors was reduced in rank and fined $560, the other fined $560 with no reduction in rank.

These two men were punished by a Captain’s Mast, which is short of a court-martial and is used for relatively minor infractions. Politico, the Washington political daily, reports that letters submitted from his crewmen on Mr. Saucier’s behalf cite what they call “command climate for junior sailors aboard the sub” and lax policies of that time about electronics for his harsh treatment.

“Kris does not deserve what he is going through,” one of his mates wrote. “If you look at the Navy records you will see countless mishandling classified material cases where many people are still in the Navy and many more people were asked to get out.”

Mr. Saucier could be sentenced to five years and three months in military prison, though his probation officer has recommended a more lenient sentence. The moral of the sad tale is either that Hillary can be glad she’s not in theNavy or that Kris Saucier is unlucky that he didn’t have the FBI on his trail. Life is not fair, as John F. Kennedy famously said, but Hillary wouldn’t agree. She gets so many breaks there just aren’t enough left over for anyone else.

Delaney Promoted to Helpdesk Manager at Tully Rinckey PLLC

April 14, 2016 – Albany, N.Y. – Tully Rinckey PLLC is pleased to announce the promotion of Brandon Delaney to Helpdesk Manager. For the past five years, Delaney has served as an IT Analyst for the firm.

In his new role, Delaney is responsible for the management and oversight of the firm’s IT helpdesk. In this role, he works with the firm’s Chief Information Officer to help ensure the overall health and productivity of the firm’s information technology (IT) systems, supporting all branch offices throughout the country. Delaney reviews, tracks, and resolves systems issues at both the datacenter and end-user device levels.

Additionally, Delaney consults with users about increasing efficiency, along with recommending and deploying hardware and software solutions to enhance or add functionality to the firm’s IT systems. He is also responsible for the firm’s high-definition video teleconferencing system, which enables attorneys and support staff to have video conferencing within the firm, and with outside agencies.

Before joining the firm in May 2011, Delaney worked as a Senior Computer Technician for an IT company in Albany, N.Y. There, he helped end users as well as small and medium businesses achieve their technological needs.

For more information, please contact Marcy Velte at (518) 218-7100 or at mvelte@1888law4life.com.

Purple Heart parking spot designated at MiSci in Schenectady

The spot is located outside the MiSci Museum near the entrance and next to the handicap spot.

At the event, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara also unveiled new legislation, that if passed, would create Purple Heart parking designations across the state.

“There’s a couple purposes for the space,” he said. “To make life a little bit easier for those who have been wounded in combat. It’s also a salute to our veterans. It reminds us every day to remember them.”

Friday’s event fell on Purple Up Day, a national invitation to show appreciation for military children by wearing the color purple.